clapter

claptern.— «You can prompt applause with a sign. My friend, SNL writer Seth Meyers, coined the term clapter, which is when you do a political joke and people go, “Woo-hoo.” It means they sort of approve but didn’t really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show.» —“Tina Fey: Funny Girl” by Jancee Dunn Reader’s Digest Apr., 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Tina Fey is incorrect in stating that her friend Seth Meyers coined the term “clapter” (Reader’s Digest interview, April 2008). It was actually coined by Amanda Filipacchi in her 1993 novel Nude Men, in which it is used many times. Clapter is the grammatical equivalent of laughter, but for clapping. It also has a connotation of being a combination of clapping and laughter. It is used to describe the enthusiastic response to the avant-garde magician Laura who entertains her audience with “tricks” that require no actual magic but do demand an elevated level of sophistication on the part of the viewer in order to be appreciated. Example: on page 179 of the Penguin paperback edition: “When Laura takes a Kleenex out of her pocket and wipes her forehead with it, everyone roars with clapter […]”

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